Nido di Seta
A new approach to reviving the ancient silk industry in Calabria
MÌA Magazine © MÌA Agency
The Nido di Seta cooperative is a group of visionary entrepreneurs from San Floro in Calabria who are dedicated to sericulture. They have also developed a project that goes far beyond this ancient cultural technique.
Miriam Pugliese, Domenico Vivino, and Giovanna Bagnato decided against the trend, when they gained a foothold in the town of San Floro, following their Calabrian roots. They not only revived the old cultural technique of silk cultivation and created a place of cultural mediation, but also developed an economic concept that adds a lot of value to their region: Protection of the environment and the landscape, economic growth, and sustainable development.
„We are creating our future with one of the most fascinating stories of our country by resuming traditional sericulture [1] and its art to create 100% made in Italy products from Calabria.“
Nido di Seta, that translates to Nest of Silk is a holistic project, that covers the past, the present, and the future.
To prepare themselves for this task, they firstly talked intensively with older locals who still had knowledge of this cultural technique and knew how to apply it, and secondly, they went on research trips to Southeast Asia, among other places, to expand the knowledge they had acquired. An effort that was definitely worthwhile.
"We need to look at our region with different eyes in order to appreciate its uniqueness and the immense resources that we underestimate every day.“
The founders Giovanna, Miriam, and Domenico.
Nido di Seta is fundamentally based on sericulture and also runs multifunctional agriculture that is organic and sustainable. This includes the entire process of silk production with its components silkworm breeding, cultivation, and care of the mulberry trees up to the processing of the cocoons into raw silk. The traditional handicraft technique of silk production, as it has been used for centuries in San Floro, serves as a model here. For dyeing the raw silk and printing the processed textiles they apply a special eco-printing technique, where only natural pigments from local Calabrian plants are used, including pigments from grapes or from the red onions of Tropea.
The raw silk, but also textiles of all kinds and a small selection of locally produced food, such as mulberry jam, are sold in-house as well as online.
Another mainstay are the educational programs on the subject of silk. To boost local tourism, they offer lectures and workshops for adults and children. There is even a silk museum with numerous historical artifacts.
„We strive to create a network of young people who want to stay in their homeland and who value the protection of the environment and landscape, along with local growth and sustainable development.“
But this visionary idea is far from finished. All silk production is currently performed in laborious handicrafts, e.g. on antique looms. A circumstance that can hardly keep up with demand. Therefore, Nido di Seta hopes for the realisation of a mechanised environmentally friendly spinning mill, like those that were once found all over Europe. This would help them to continue delivering ethical products of the highest quality in Calabria while providing an opportunity to create jobs for the region.
This innovative, future-focused mindset paired with a deeper understanding of taking responsibility for their region, cultural heritage and environment caught our attention, and we are glad to take part in this journey.
Stay tuned for more!
Mulberry tree leaves provide nutrition for the silkworm.
Miriam demonstrating different spinning techniques in a workshop
[1] Sericulture, or silk farming, is the breeding of silkworms to produce silk.
*All images were kindly provided by Nido di Seta. All rights reserved.
vegetal pigments from the region provide vibrant colours
Yellow can also occur as a natural pigmentation of the cocoons
Ageluzza, a local weaver teaching her precious weaving skills.
Weaving used to be a female tradition in Calabria
For more information on their activities and services please visit the Nido di Seta website, or go directly to their onlineshop!
If you like to read more about the history of silk in Calabria, please take a look at our article.